When Dag Hammarskjöld accepted the call to serve as United Nations Secretary-General in 1953, he stepped out of Stockholm’s quiet halls of policy into something entirely foreign: an American media frenzy flooded with flashbulbs. He was a reserved Swede, steeped in literature, philosophy, and the kind of solitude that shapes inner strength. Yet overnight, Dag […]
Dag Hammarskjöld’s Baptism by Flashbulb Read More »
Ever find yourself cleaning up chaos you didn’t create? Perhaps you’re considering a job or a promotion that will require you to clean up someone else’s mess in a department or a company. Or maybe you own your own company and you hired someone who made a royal mess and now you have to clean
Episode 35: How to Fix the Mess You Didn’t Make Read More »
History often remembers Dag Hammarskjöld as the austere, enigmatic Secretary-General of the United Nations—a man carved from ice and intellect. Journalists of his time described him as aloof, reserved, even unreachable. Those who met him in diplomatic corridors mistook his quiet for distance and his formality for emotional detachment. But those who truly knew him—his
The Tender Side of Dag Hammarskjöld Read More »
Let’s pull back the curtain on the “expert economy” — that shiny world where everyone is suddenly a coach, consultant, or “thought leader.” From promises of million-dollar blueprints to endless coaching-of-coaches, I’d like to ask: Who’s actually doing the work anymore? Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult#As_a_metaphor Sara’s award-winning biography of Dag can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Decoding-Unicorn-New-Look-Hammarskj%C3%B6ld-ebook/dp/B0DSCS5PZT Her forthcoming project,
Episode 34: The Business Advice Pyramid Read More »
—And Somehow Stayed Calm! In the annals of history, certain moments reveal the essence of a person more clearly than any résumé or title ever could. For Dag Hammarskjöld, one such moment came not in the marble halls of diplomacy—but thousands of feet above the ground, with the German Luftwaffe in pursuit. A Flight Interrupted:
The Day Dag Hammarskjöld Faced the Luftwaffe Read More »
Subtitle: Choosing Your Battles in the Marketplace of Ideas We live in a world where every rumor, every hot take, and every twisted narrative can feel like a personal call to arms. But do we really need to chase down everything and everyone? Let’s examine: Why not every rumor needs your response How Dag handled
Episode 33: You Don’t Have to Correct Every Record Read More »
When people imagine a child growing up in a castle, they often picture sweeping staircases, glittering chandeliers, and royal banquets. But for Dag Hammarskjöld, the future Secretary-General of the United Nations, “castle life” looked very different. His childhood home, Uppsala Castle in Sweden, was a place of solemnity, history, and quiet contemplation. At the time,
Growing Up in a Castle: Dag Hammarskjöld’s Uppsala Roots Read More »
Ever wonder what happens after you walk away from the job matrix? When the title, the paycheck, and the tidy calendar disappear—and you’re left staring at the open sky thinking, “Now what?” In this episode, I’ll dive into the price of nonconformity and what it’s really like to navigate the liminal space—that raw, in-between season where the
Episode 32: The Price of Nonconformity: Navigating Life After the Job Matrix Read More »
När människor söker på Dag Hammarskjölds död eller Dag Hammarskjölds flygkrasch, möter de ofta det tragiska slutet på hans liv innan de hinner upptäcka det enastående sätt på vilket han levde. Hammarskjöld, Förenta nationernas andre generalsekreterare, lämnade efter sig ett arv som sträcker sig långt bortom Kongokrisen eller det kalla krigets spänningar. För att minnas
Minnet av Dag Hammarskjöld: Hans liv, arv och bestående relevans Read More »
I de hektiska FN-korridorerna, där beslut om krig och fred hänger i luften, förväntar man sig knappast att hitta en fristad för tystnad. Men mitt i FN-högkvarteret i New York finns just en sådan fristad: FN:s meditationsrum (även kallat The Room of Quiet). Rummet i sin nuvarande form var visionen av en man som ofta
Stillhetens punkt: Varför Dag Hammarskjöld skapade FN:s meditationsrum Read More »